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SANS Cyber Defense Initiative® 2026

December 14, 2026 @ 7:00 am - December 19, 2026 @ 3:20 pm EST

December 14 – 19, 2026 | Agenda Coming Soon!

Grand Hyatt Washington & Virtual (EST)
1000 H Street NW | Washington D.C. 20001

Year-End Cybersecurity Training in Washington, D.C.

SANS Cyber Defense Initiative 2026 is a cybersecurity training event running December 14-19 at the Grand Hyatt Washington, in-person and online. Over 40 courses available, from an introduction to cybersecurity through malware reverse engineering, ICS incident response, and AI security. Most pair with a GIAC certification, so you leave with new skills and the validation to prove it. Whatever the skill you need, you’ll have an uninterrupted week to learn and practice among peers.​

Why Attend CDI 2026:

  • Courses are hands-on with lab practice each day, taught by instructors who are frontline experts in the field they teach.​
  • Most courses pair with a GIAC certification, a credential that proves capability.​
  • Classmates matter as much as the curriculum. You’ll train alongside industry peers who are working to solve the same problems you are. Plus, evening keynotes and SANS@Night talks keep the conversation going after class ends. ​
  • With four months of OnDemand Extended Access, included with every course purchase, you can revisit modules later once you’reback at work implementing the techniques.
  • The event venue, Grand Hyatt Washington,  sits a few blocks from the National Mall, with a direct Metro Center connection underneath.​

Why Organizations Send Teams

  • December timing. CDI falls in Q1 of the federal fiscal year and at the close of calendar-year training budgets. Whether funds have just opened up or need to be used before the cycle closes, the timing of this training event can cover either. The Grand Hyatt holds rooms at the government per diem rate.
  • Satisfy DoD 8140 and its equivalents. SANS courses and GIAC certifications help organizations satisfy the requirements of many cybersecurity directives and frameworks such as DoD 8140, NIS2, CMMC, DORA, and NICE.
  • Close skill gaps that hiring hasn’t solved. If the experience needed to take on your organization’s cyber risk remains scarce in the talent market, training your team can fill that gap. CDI courses cover LLM application security, cloud security engineering, and OT visibility and response in the same week.​
  • Gain credentials that hold up in an audit. GIAC is accredited by ANAB under ISO/IEC 17024, which is why auditors, insurers, and contracting officers accept the credential as evidence. ​

Course Highlights:

  • Reverse engineer malware samples in Reverse-Engineering Malware: Malware Analysis Tools and Techniques.
  • Defend industrial control systems in ICS Visibility, Detection, and Response.
  • Build cloud security controls from the ground up in Cloud Security Engineering and Controls.
 
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Details

Start:
December 14, 2026 @ 7:00 am EST
End:
December 19, 2026 @ 3:20 pm EST
Event Category:
Event Tags:
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Website:
https://www.sans.org/cyber-security-training-events/cyber-defense-initiative-2026

Organizer

SANS
Phone:
(301) 654-7267
Email:
support@sans.org
Website:
https://www.sans.org/

Venue

Grand Hyatt Washington
1000 H Street NW
Washington, D.C., MD 20001 United States + Google Map
Phone:
(202) 582-1234
Website:
https://www.hyatt.com/grand-hyatt/en-US/wasgh-grand-hyatt-washington?src=corp_lclb_google_seo_wasgh&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=lmr

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